Hi everyone!
Well I've been really busy the past weeks, but look, I was still able to update on time!
I just want to thank everyone who commented, voted or followed -or all three!
I don't have time to personally thank everyone of you, but know that I really appreciate your votes/comments/follows. (And just so you know I read all the comments:) )
This chapter is dedicated to @IonaBaird123 , a talented young writer whom I'm sure will go a long way! Never give up on your dreams:)
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Chapter 15
The hours that followed were long. The elderly lady from before, Marcy, along with two of her helpers, came to my rooms with horrible news. I, Hailey Underwood, would have to wear a dress for nothing more than a ridiculous dinner. And not just any dress, no, to make my suffering worse, I would have to wear an elegant, floor-length gown.
At least I got out of having a pink one. Yep, that's right, these heartless women also wanted my dress to be a bright, bubblegum pink. The winning argument: "Pink doesn't go well with my eyes or my wings! A green one would go so much better!"
I never thought I would say this, but thank you Allison for all those speeches on matching colors.
After they had taken some measures and Marcy had drawn some quick sketches, she sent her two helpers away with instructions to "hurry up and start setting up everything."
With a reproachful look, she told me, "Shame on you for making my little girls have to rush to finish your dress! Pink would have looked so good on you, too!"
That almost made me feel guilty. Almost, because hey! it was a pink dress, they should feel bad for trying to make me wear one, too!
When I acted this way, Ali would always tell me I was such a tomboy, to which I protested that being a tomboy wasn't simply not liking to wear dresses. Tomboyish girls liked doing boyish things like sports and stuff, whereas I was as athletic as a stuffed teddybear. Of course, when Ali and I did wear dresses -for very special occasions, and only because my dad wanted me to- Ali wore the pink one, so I didn't have to beg someone to let me wear another color dress. I sighed, feeling nostalgic thinking about my best friend.
Marcy led me quickly to a large room with a floor so shiny I could see my reflection in it. She left in hurry, muttering something under her breath about fabric and dresses. I don't know why, but I don't think she likes me very much.
"Hello, you must be Hailey!" A blonde woman in her twenties greeted me warmly, introducing herself as Ellie.
She was very pretty, with her pale pink wings enhancing her pale complexion. She looked nice enough, though her next words changed my mind.
"Welcome to etiquette class!" She said with a bright smile.
I wanted to ask why she looked so happy about torturing me, but I didn't want to make things worse for myself, so I kept quiet.
Etiquette class was as fun as the name implied. After learning all about table manners, we finally got to the proper behavior to have towards all the different people I would be meeting.
"Good, Hailey! You catch on fast!" Ellie praised me, as I gave the appropriate remarks to the different people she acted out for me.
Seriously, how could this lady not hate me already? But Ellie's eternal smile was contagious, and I found myself smiling back at her, "Thanks, Ellie!"
When Ellie finally deemed me well-mannered enough to be let near the important people of the Royal court, we took a small break. And yes, if you're wondering, I did learn to curtsy. That might have been useful to know before meeting the king, but thankfully he didn't seem to mind.
"All right, Hailey! We're almost done!"-I wonder what other kinds of torture she could have possibly thought up of- "Next we're just going to go over some basic dance moves, just in case."-Really? Well that's not so bad, then. Wait, I bet there's a trick somewhere- "To be honest I don't think you'll have to dance at all, but better safe than sorry!"
As it turns out, I actually liked to dance. I had started dancing lessons when I was around four or five, on Ali's plea that she didn't want to be by herself since she didn't know anyone. Looking back on it, that must have been a complete lie, since Allison was the most sociable person I knew. Nevertheless, it worked, and I continued dancing for three years.
Ellie made me change into an old-fashioned lavender gown, saying that I wouldn't be able to learn to dance properly wearing my jeans. Even though the dress was a bit too loose and kept tripping me up, I actually had fun dancing with Ellie. I had never danced that way before -I used to do ballet, then had a year of modern, and this was more like ballroom dancing- and Ellie had a subtle way of pointing out my mistakes that only encouraged me further.
Still, I couldn't have been more happy when Ellie told me that we were done, and I was able to revert to the comfort of my jeans. She led me back to my room, as, although I was starting to recognize my way around a bit, I still wasn't confident enough about my orientation skills to try to go back to my room alone. I'm sure I could have found my way back eventually though, as Lynn seemed to be always running through one hallway or another.
Back in my room, I took a shower and was soon joined by Marcy and her two assistants, whose names I always seemed to forget. I tried on the dress, which was made of a soft, light material. I had to admit it was beautiful, and I did my best to look grateful as the three women made some last minute fittings.
Since I wouldn't sit still while Marcy braided my hair into an intricate pattern, she let me wear it loose on my shoulders. She didn't even try to put makeup on my face, which I was grateful for.
"You two, run get changed, the banquet will start soon," Marcy instructed her two assistants. As soon as they were gone, she turned to me and handed me the green gown she had carefully laid on my hammock earlier, as well as a pair of knee length black leggings, most likely part of a Winged lady's wardrobe in case of an unscheduled flight. "Hailey, go put your dress on."
I went in the bathroom and quickly slipped on the dress, not bothering to look at my reflection in the mirror. I looked funny with dresses on, anyway.
Marcy looked me over, and a satisfied look appeared on her face. "Well, that isn't too bad." I wasn't sure if that was meant as a compliment or not, so I kept quiet.
"All right, Hailey! Well, looks like that took less time than I thought! I guess I won't have to be late to the banquet after all!"
Well, looks like not bothering me with makeup made both of us happy.
She gave me a last look, before saying, "I'm going, now, but someone will come get you before the banquet, all right?"
I nodded, and she opened the door, but as she was leaving, she turned around.
"Oh and Hailey? There better not be any wrinkles on that dress." She said with a deadly glare.
"Understood," I gulped.
As soon as she was gone, I sighed. How did she know all I wanted to do was to sprawl on my hammock? Instead, I had to be content with sitting on the desk chair and be extremely bored for the next fifteen minutes or so.
There was a knock at my door, and I jumped up. Finally! As I hurried towards the door, I almost tripped over the hem of my dress and huffed. I hoped all the dinners here weren't as fancy as this banquet-thing, because there was no way I would wear a dress like this every night.
I opened the door to meet an unknown face.
"Hello, you must be Hailey, right? I'm Carson." His short-cropped hair and camouflage green wings gave the boy a sort of military appearance.
"Oh, hi, yeah, it's me. Are you here to show me where the banquet is?"
Carson smiled, "That's right."
"Great! Let's get going, I'm bored out of my mind!"
Carson opened his mouth, and Chase's voice rang out, "Hey, Hailey!"
Surprised, I looked over Carson's shoulder to see Chase striding towards us.
"Hey, Chase!" I smiled.
"Sorry, Carson! Change of plans, I'm taking Hailey to the banquet," Chase said, looking far from sorry. Ignoring Carson's disappointed face, he continued, "Now, guess who has to go fix the patrolling schedule?"
"Are you serious, man?" Carson groaned. "I hate you," he said, punching Chase's shoulder playfully. "How come you always get the good assignments?"
"Well, having a say in things actually helps a bit," Chase joked.
"Yeah, and so does Bree not looking at you like you're a brainless idiot each time you open your mouth!"
Chase laughed, "Well maybe it wouldn't be that way if someone hadn't thrown a peach pie in her face!"
"It was an accident!" Carson protested.
I was starting to feel a bit left out of the conversation, but Carson said, "All right then, I guess I'll see you around, Hailey! Have fun at the banquet tonight!" before hurrying away.
"You look beautiful, Hailey," Chase said, turning to me.
"Thanks," I muttered, looking at my feet.
"You really do," he answered. There was a pause, and Chase laughed.
I looked up at him, confused.
"What's so funny?"
"Hailey, can I see what shoes you're wearing?"
I smiled sheepishly and lifted my dress a bit to reveal my bare feet. "How did you know?"
Chase nodded towards a pair of elegant white shoes next to my wardrobe. I looked at them in surprise. Marcy must have left them there for me, but I somehow didn't notice them before.
I slipped the shoes on. The heels were rather short, so I wouldn't have to worry about them. I remember the shoes Ali had made me wear once at a school dance, the heels were thrice as big. Although I did kick the shoes off as soon as we went inside, so I'm not really sure if that counts.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yep!"
I followed Chase down the hallway. As far as I could see, Chase wasn't dressed half as fancy as I was. He wore polished black boots and black riding pants with a white shirt, from which stuck out his large wings of different shades of brown.
"Tell me, Hailey," Chase said with a small smile as we climbed up a few stairs, "Which would you rather use, the big entrance everyone enters from -of course by the time we get there they'll probably be inside already- or the small entrance that leads directly to where you'll be seated?"
I looked at him blankly. I think I would have enough attention as it is without needing to make a grand entrance.
"All right," he laughed, "no need to look at me like that, I was joking!"
We walked through a deserted gallery of mirrors, and I couldn't help but admire our reflection.
"See, I told you you looked beautiful," Chase said seriously, catching my gaze.
I stopped to examine myself fully. The green dress didn't make me look odd and out of place as I was afraid it would. Instead, it made me look elegant, just like the Winged princess I just discovered I was. The dress was well-fitted and fell around my legs tightly enough that its size did not bother me, yet not so that it restricted my movements. The top of the dress was attached behind my neck, leaving my back bare and my wings free. The green was a bit darker than my wings, which seemed to enhance my eyes and wings a bit.
Chase looked as handsome as usual, though I wasn't going to tell him that. I met his eyes in the mirror, and I could see he was waiting for me to agree with him on how I looked.
Answering Chase's questioning gaze, I shrugged and said, "Well, I'll admit I've looked much worse."
Then I grabbed his hand and led him out of the mirror-encrusted hallway in the direction of the ballroom. As fashionable as being late might be these days, I was going to draw enough attention to myself as it was.
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EDIT: fixed the weird spacing.
Hope you like it! As always, votes and comments are very appreciated!